When Khanyisa Bunu's character Dambisa on Scandal! uttered the unexpected punchline “umpu” in a dramatic scene, it was TV gold, and viewers couldn't keep a straight face.
Social media users couldn't get enough, and the scene soon went viral. Now the comedian-cum-actor plans to coin it by turning the iconic catchphrase into a merchandise venture.
This is how “umpu” was goated in pop culture:
How did “Umpu” come about?
“Umpu” is the word for gun in isiXhosa. I’d always watch shows such as Gqeberha: The Empire and Inimba, where the Xhosa actors always use “isibhamu”, but that’s not the correct word; isibhamu is Zulu.
So, I’ve always told myself that if I were to get a gun scene, I would use the word umpu. Initially, in the scene, I was supposed to say: “Oh, no, a gun!”, but I improvised it and said: “oh, yoh, umpu!". [At that time] I wasn’t aware that people didn’t know umpu because it’s a very common word that we use back home in the Eastern Cape.
Did you think it would go viral?
No. I started noticing that there was something odd during rehearsals when the director started laughing at me, but I couldn’t understand why. I knew the word was funny, but I was confused.
I then started teasing the word around the set, just to gauge people’s reactions, and they’d all respond by laughing – that’s when I made the conscious decision to push it beyond the screen.
What do you remember about filming the scene?
The most amusing part was me running. I remember having a conversation with Bongile Mantsai [Mthunzi] about how big “umpu” was and his response was, “people are laughing about it now, but they can only imagine how hard it was for us as the cast to contain our laughter”. That scene will always be one of the best I’ve done.
How do you plan to coin it?
Due to the overwhelming response from the public, I thought that there could be an opportunity for me to keep the word going for longer; I didn’t want it to die down. I wanted people to remember that scene. So, I thought, let me start a merchandise for it, and our jumpsuits are a favourite among my fans.
People were purchasing the merchandise through me, but as of next week, my online store will be live due to the demand on social media.
Where was the craziest place a fan has shouted umpu at you?
When I was at the airport, coming from Zimbabwe. I was walking through the international checkout queue, and a guy who was helping me kept saying, “Come on, umpu”, as I was frantically looking for my boarding pass. I was so surprised and I laughed.
What do you miss the most about playing Dambisa after she was killed off?
You know when you think, “Ja, I’m killing it and I’m going to be here for a while,” and then it turns out to be the opposite? I wasn’t expecting her to be killed off, but I eventually made peace with it. I still had to shoot a few scenes after Dambisa’s death – ghost scenes. I even remember saying, “I’m bored now,” because I had no lines to read and not many scenes to shoot.
Scandal! was the biggest production I’ve ever been part of. It really gave me a chance to shine and showcase my talent. I’ve done a few shows on Netflix and Ses'Top La but I felt I grew the most on Scandal!. So those last days on set were quite heavy.
Scandal! is ending – how do you feel?
I’m very sad. I still can’t believe the show is ending because of ratings. I could be wrong, but to me, it doesn’t feel that way – wherever I go, people still recognise me. I just hope that whatever show replaces it can maintain the standard that Scandal! set.
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